This is how Colin Randall announced the move of Salut! Live to WordPress, with the new name Salut! Folk, after 18 years at Typepad…
When the rug was suddenly pulled from under our feet, the future of Salut! Live at first seemed uncertain.
Typepad’s announcement that it was closing left precious little time to arrange migration of the site to a new host.
After 18 years in familiar if sometimes frustrating or even downright unreliable surrounds, we first had to investigate whether a new home could be found.
And if it could, what would the migration cost?
Salut! Live is a labour of love. I am a journalist, not a businessman, and have never had a clear idea of how it could be made to produce an income, welcome as that would be. Nor do I know much about websites beyond the basics.
Fortunately my deputy editor Andrew Curry and – especially – his son Peter, who works in AI, stepped in and managed to organise the export of content to our new WordPress platform.
In case you’re wondering why that was such a significant task, consider these stats from WordPress:
The site now hosts 848 posts, 1,668 comments, and 1165 pieces of media going back to May 4 2007.
With the change of lodgings comes a change of name. Salut! Live becomes Salut! Folk, more obviously reflecting the core subject matter of the site. But we will continue to approach music with an open mind; don’t be surprised to find items on the blues and occasional dips into other musical territory.
Along with that formidable archive, we will seek to transfer ways in which you, the reader, can support the site if you have the inclination and means to do so. Something like the Buy Me a Coffee button you see below (mighty thanks to the couple of people who have kindly responded… it’s entirely voluntary and if I’m honest, I get as much pleasure from seeing impressive visitor numbers.
If you care for the sort of music we showcase, this is not a bad place to visit. Between us, Andrew, our North America editor Steve Peck and I, plus Steve’s predecessor Bill Taylor and other contributors, have a fair amount of knowledge and abundant passion. Our archive is well worth occasional exploration.
Here and at our companion Facebook group – if you already see it, you’ll recognise Bill Taylor’s superb photo of the Canadian fiddler Anne Lindsay – we will do our best to keep you informed and entertained.
